


free the divine beasts! (the princess’s message)

by anyastasia



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Age of Calamity, F/F, breath of the wild - Freeform, please let zelda and impa be girlfriends, pre-botw, yes the game has not come out yet and i’m still making content abt it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:27:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27257167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anyastasia/pseuds/anyastasia
Summary: how zelda left the words and the tunic with impa.
Relationships: Impa/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29





	free the divine beasts! (the princess’s message)

impa wouldn’t see zelda for a very, very long time. 

that was what the princess explained to her, under a bloodred sky, with ruin all around them. impa had stumbled after her all the way from the shrine of resurrection to the lost woods, defending her the best she could from monsters on her pilgrimage to the misty forests to deliver the sword that seals the darkness. she was exhausted, her feet were numb, and she wanted to collapse. but she had to follow her princess. 

zelda pressed something to impa’s chest - a tunic, bright cerulean. champion colors. impa dug her dirty fingernails into the tattered fabric. 

“you need to go,” zelda said. her voice was strong and true, with an edge of urgency around it. standing in this grassy field - impa didn’t know where they were, what with this horrible red mist all around them; it didn’t matter, as long as she was here with zelda. the princess looked tired. 

impa shook her head. the chains on her hat rattled. “i’m not leaving you,” she protested. “i’m supposed to protect you.”

zelda glanced down at the tattered tunic they both held. “can’t you see where you’ll end up if you do?” she said softly. “i don’t want to see you hurt. please, go. go back to your people. they need you more than i do.”

that hurt. impa winced, and hoped zelda didn’t notice. “but i  _ belong  _ here with you,” she pleaded. “please, zelda. let me be your hero.”

underneath the apocalypse and catastrophe all around them, it seemed more like a prophecy than a plea. zelda’s eyes were sad, and she didn’t reply. her gaze was fixed on the tunic in their hands. she pulled her hands away and clutched them to her chest instead. 

“we could go somewhere,” impa blurted, lips moving without sound as she searched for words. “akkala citadel. my village. anywhere - anywhere where you’ll be safe. like urbosa said - i need to get you somewhere safe. that’s my job, as your protector.”

zelda shook her head, turning away to look at hyrule castle over the carnage of hyrule field and the surrounding villages. “i can’t,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. “i wish i could. i can’t.”

impa pursed her lips desperately. “where else can you go?” she demanded. “no where else in hyrule is safe.”

it was a long time before zelda spoke again. “i have to go to the castle,” she murmured. “i have to face ganon. i need to hold him there.”

impa nearly shrieked. “what in nayru’s name are you talking about?” she yelped. “you can’t go there! you’ll die!”

“if this had happened yesterday, i would die,” zelda said. “but now i have my powers. i’ve unlocked them, like it’s been foretold. i’m strong enough to face him, and trap him in hyrule castle.”

impa fidgeted. “once you do that,” she said nervously. “will you come to kakariko? and be safe? with me?”

zelda smiled sadly and turned to look at the sheikah girl before here. “impa, i wish i could,” she said quietly. “i can’t. i’m going to be in that castle for a long time.”

impa’s waterline burned with tears. “but - but you can’t!” she cried, clutching the tunic to her chest. “zelda,  _ please _ . stay with me. we can be safe in kakariko -  _ together _ .”

zelda looked like she was about to cry, too. “impa, i wish, i wish,” she said, her voice right. “please. please, don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

impa took a hand off of the tunic to scrub at the tears that were falling down her face now. she took a step forward, then another, and then threw her arms around her princess, burying her head into her shoulder. zelda’s hands held tight to the back of her robe. 

“what will i do?” impa sobbed into her neck. “zelda, i can’t live without you. what can i possibly do without you here with me?”

“you’ll deliver my message,” zelda said, pulling impa away and cupping her face close to hers. “please. the hero  _ will  _ wake up. when he does, i need you to tell him this -  _ free the divine beasts. _ ”

zelda’s eyes shone like starlight as she spoke those words, and impa wiped her eyes, nodding shakily. “i will,” she choked. “i will. i swear, i will.”

zelda nodded solemnly, pulling herself away. “thank you, impa. thank you. i...i love you.”

impa’s breath hitched, and she held the tunic closer to her chest. “i love you too,” she blurted. “i always have. i’m sorry.”

she didn’t know what she was apologizing for - them having to separate? the calamity? link’s death? whatever it was, zelda seemed to understand, and she gave impa a small smile, reaching up to brush a tear away. 

“it’s going to be okay, impa,” she said, taking a few steps back. “we’ll see each other again. i promise. i promise.”

impa watched zelda retreat from her and advance towards the castle for a long time, until she lost sight of her in the trees and the tall grass. only when she couldn’t see the princess anymore did she sink to her knees and bury her face into the tunic, crying. it smelled of dirt and blood and faintly of link. she didn’t move from her position for a long time. 

finally she picked herself up and trudged towards the dueling peaks, the only landmark that told her where her home was. she carried the tunic with care, and zelda’s words in her heart - she repeated zelda’s message for link over and over again, until the words began to not make sense. 

impa would wait for zelda. she promised she would come back. 

_ she promised. _

**Author's Note:**

> not playing the demo, first experience with the game will be november 20! how exciting!! impa is already a fave from the trailers💕
> 
> 11/29 EDIT: hello!!!! as someone who has now played AoC a decent way through, i’m aware that this fic is very very inaccurate but in my defense i was going off of trailers and speculation HAHA


End file.
